Here are the latest articles from the Special Needs Children site at BellaOnline.com.

Wearing Glasses in Early Childhood
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art54721.asp

Helping a child to learn to wear glasses often requires patience and imagination, as well as good advice. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent, delay or cure what can develop into serious vision problems for babies and toddlers who are prescribed glasses.

Children with Disabilities in Movies, Ads and Television
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art54743.asp

For many years, advocates have been working for the inclusion of people with disabilities to be represented in the media as both central characters and extras so that what we see in commercials, movies, television shows, newspapers and magazines more accurately reflect our communities.

Recognizing Early Signs of Autism
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art55223.asp

Recognizing early signs of autism helps families find resoures and support for very young children with autism spectrum disorders. The autism video glossary shows film clips of autism symptoms, helping families reach professionals to find an earlier diagnosis and early intervention options.

Please visit specialneedschildren.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Special Needs Children.

Signing, Reading and Spelling
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art33567.asp

Expressing Friendship with Valentines
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art40072.asp
The Valentines Day holiday is a great opportunity for expressions of friendship between children.

Friendship and Inclusion for Children with Special Needs
Adults can help children or teens with special needs and their mainstream peers initiate, build and maintain friendships

Cutting with Scissors and Other Fine Motor Skills
Children who struggle with fine motor skills, like cutting with scissors, may deal with challenges of motor planning, muscle control, perception of objects, size and strength of their fingers and hands, limited access to tools and practice, and their own frustration.

IEP Goals for Children with Special Needs
Writing IEP goals for children with special needs can be a challenge for teachers who are not yet familiar with your child as an individual

Printing and Cursive Handwriting for Children with Special Needs
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art51023.asp
Children with special needs have shown great success in learning to print and write in cursive when given the support, encouragement and tools that should be readily available to them as well as their mainstream classmates

Teaching Handwriting to Children with Special Needs
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art51022.asp
Children may have difficulty learning handwriting due to physical or neurological immaturity, motor planning or sensory integration difficulties, developmental disability, or lack of opportunities, modifications or tools that accommodate, reduce or eliminate the challenges they face.

Person Centered Planning
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art53731.asp
Person Centered Planning is a process that can have a profound effect on an individual´s life, their community´s perspective, and the support, encouragement and opportunities your son or daughter might find during times of transition.

Down Syndrome Awareness Month - March or October?
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art53612.asp
National Down Syndrome Awareness Month is celebrated each October in the USA and many other countries. Advocates also participate in World Down Syndrome Day activites each March twenty-first, chosen because of the three copies of chromosome twenty-one.

Communicating with Babies
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art54401.asp
Responding to a baby´s cries and filling their needs teaches them that their attempts to communicate work, that they are loved, and that they are surrounded by people who care deeply about them. An Australian woman with a photographic memory for sound discovered five sounds that babies around the world use to communicate their needs as newborns.

Affirmations - Expressing Affection and Acceptance
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art208.asp

Soothing Children's Fears
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art35602.asp

Problem Behavior and Family Stress
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32503.asp

Reading Readiness and Reading Strategies
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art35577.asp

To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Special Needs Children located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=57

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!

Pamela Wilson, Special Needs Children Editor
http://specialneedschildren.bellaonline.com

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